Atlus Picks Up Dragon's Crown

ATLUS said today it acquired the North American and Japan publishing rights for Vanillaware's 2D side-scrolling action RPG Dragon's Crown.

Publishing rights for the game were previously owned by UTV Ignition. ATLUS is now assisting Vanillaware on the game's development and will publish it sometime in 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Vita.

"It’s still way too early in development to be talking about specifics, but we can say that the game simply cannot retail for $29.99," ATLUS PR manager Aram Jabbari said on the PlayStation Blog.

"We don’t know where that price point came from, but it is a logistical impossibility. We’re all gamers and we all wished it could be so, but it would have essentially destroyed any chance for profitability."

Dragon's Crown was originally set for release later this year.

UTV Ignition released the following statement:

“While we are saddened to no longer be associated with the Dragon’s Crown project, we are very confident that the title is in excellent hands with Atlus,” stated Lokesh Dhar, senior vice president of UTV Ignition Entertainment.

“Since the initial announcement, information on timing and features in the game have changed and other details regarding design and functionality are yet to be determined. We are confident that Atlus and Vanillaware will deliver the finest game possible.”